A trail of thunder
by Flamespirit of the Storm
Summary: A glance of two gleaming green eyes in the dark. Bright orange fur , blazing like a roaring fire. Stars surrounding , drifting sparkling like the spirit-cats of legend. And a few softly spoken , whispered words. "Find the thunder"
1. Chapter 1

The young cat shivered at the edge of a black path. Her amber eyes were wide with fear as she was sprayed by a slosh of water. She shook off the water and span around. Sitting down on the soggy grass, the small ebony feline gazed up at her mentor. She opened her mouth and mewed "Do I have to cross it?" quivering her small pink nose. The older cat chuckled, his brown form shaking slightly. He purred "Yes, Applepaw you do." The tiny black she-cat stepped back. Her eyes were wide. He went on, mewing "Come on. It's not that bad."

Applepaw nodded, still shaking. She gingerly put one paw forward, then jerked it back. She looked up at the brown cat with pleading eyes. "Please, Greenstike? Please? "She mewed, tilting her head to the side. Greenstrike chuckled, and shoved her slightly. "Go on." He mewed.

Applepaw blinked in fear and stepped forward. She spotted a huge red monster approaching, yellow eyes blazing. She leaped backwards until it had passed, then placed one paw on the rough black surface. She tiptoed forward, watching for monsters. Seeing a clear path, Applepaw jumped forward and ran, paws thudding like her heartbeat on the surface. She reached the edge and shook, tears streaming from her eyes. Curling up in a ball, Applepaw cried, terrified by the monster, the path, everything.

She lay for a while. It could have been heart-beats. It could have been moons. She just lay, eyes shut, breathing laboured.  
When she finally peaked up, she saw nothing but an orange haze. It surrounded her, smothering her. She could feel her throat blocking- was she chocking? The amber mist drifted around her, swamping her vision. Out of the fog, Applepaw spotted a lithe form. It was a ginger cat with glowing green eyes and stars in his pelt. She blinked, watching the starry cat. What was it doing here? Was it a SpiritClan cat, like in the elder's myths? She watched as lightning crackled around the cat. She heard a single phase, repeated again and again "Find the thunder."

It was then that Applepaw awoke in the medicine cat den. 


	2. Chapter 2

Applepaw looked up. A gentle pale grey paw was hovering above her head. The she-cat blinked as she spotted Applepaw looking at her. She mewed quietly "Hello Applepaw. Are you any better? "

Applepaw nodded shakily and mewed "Paleleaf... why am I here?" Paleleaf shook her grey head, green eyes looking gently at Applepaw. She meowed "You fainted. " and returned to sorting herbs.

Applepaw blinked in shook and muttered "But... the cat... the message..." Paleleaf whirled around , regal emerald eyes wide. She hissed "What did you say?" Applepaw stuttered "Erm... a cat gave me a message."

Paleleaf tilted her head in shook and looked at Applepaw. Her usually gentle mew was deathly calm. She growled "What message? "

Applepaw backed away and mewed "Errm... find the Thunder. "

Paleleaf's gaze hardened and she muttered "By the spirits..."

Tilting her head, Applepaw mewed "What? What is it?" Her mew was frightened , hesitated.

Paleleaf murmered "Applepaw. Keep this quiet. Go back to the apprentices den- I need to speak to Ashstar."

Applepaw was left in bewilderment as Paleleaf bussuled out the den. She blinked in fear. What did her dream mean? What could 'Find the Thunder mean?'

She blinked in alarm as a tortoiseshell paw appeared on hers. A voice whispered in her ear, softly as a wind drifting through leaf-bare trees. "You are not alone. "

She leaped back, and fled the den. Jumping into the apprentices den, Applepaw shook. Why were mysterious cats following her? She wasn't special. She was a normal cat. Normal parents, normal clan , normal family. She'd never done anything remarkable in her life. Why was she getting messages?


	3. Chapter 3

Padding to the apprentice's den, Applepaw shook. She was terrified by the medicine cat's reaction. She could recall the stunned look on Paleleaf's face as she told her about the message. But was it a message? She wandered. It could have been a prophecy like in the elder's tales. Or it could have been an omen... Stumbling inside the apprentice's den, Applepaw felt her paws shake. She lay in her warm moss nest and drifted slowly off into a peaceful sleep.

She began to dream. In her dream, the moon was shrouded by grey fog, which cloaked the black sky. The small feline glanced about into the darkness. She had spotted something.

Two amber eyes, just like the eyes of a monster. Glowing in the gloom, the two eyes moved forward. Applepaw shrank back as a tall tortoiseshell she-cat stepped forward. She had a black blaze of fur on her forehead, back, muzzle and tail. Her fur was patched with swirls of amber and white. The cat whipped her tail and purred "Hello my dear."

Applepaw boldly put one paw forward. She hissed "Who are you?"

The tortoiseshell she-cat laughed. It was more of a cackle then a gentle giggle, enough to make Applepaw pace two steps back.

The she-cat wound around Applepaw, making her fur prick up. The she-cat mewed "Oh, me? I am Mapleshade. "

Applepaw twitched one ear at the name. She rolled one paw over the thin dirt floor and mewed "Why am I here?"

The feline chuckled. Applepaw scrutinised her face: was that blood on her muzzle? She stepped back, eyes wide in alarm.

The she-cat purred "To train you."


	4. Chapter 4

Applepaw took a deep breath and mewed shakily "But why would I need training? I'm a apprentice of PathClan already! "

Mapleshade smirked. She twisted her head and meowed "PathClan? Those weak fools!"

Applepaw jumped back and hissed "PathClan isn't weak!"

Mapleshade nodded "Yes it is. Almost as weak as ThunderClan. "

Tilting her head, Applepaw questioned "What's ThunderClan?"

Ignoring her, Mapleshade whipped her long tail. She mewed "Never mind. Attack me."

Applepaw shook her head and meowed "No."

Growling, the ferocious tortoiseshell she-cat hurled herself at Applepaw, hissing "Then I will!"

The 8 moon old apprentice looked up shocked, then dodged out the way, paws skidding against the slimy mud. She watched as Mapleshade almost face-planted, then stood up, grinning manically. She spun around, batting at Applepaw, claws unsheathed. Applepaw felt the sharp claws - almost like thistles- rip across her shoulder. She spat up at Mapleshade, rearing up, scratching her face.

Mapleshade stood back, breathing hard. Applepaw bent down to lick at her cut, feeling the dark-crimson staining her dark fur. Mapleshade looked up at her, amber eyes glowing with some unregistered feeing. Pride?

She looked down at her, regal, tall form bent, covered in scars. She mewed with disdain "Congratulations Applepaw. You may wake up now." Applepaw looked up, amber eyes bleary. She could feel pain stinging her side; right where Mapleshade's claws had reached her. She spun around, seeing a bright scarlet staining her fur. It was three long claw scratches, tearing through skin. She licked at it, trying to get the blood out, and the pain to stop. She was dreaming... and yet still bleeding.


	5. Chapter 5

Applepaw jolted awake, eyes wide. Her heart beated , loud as a roaring tiger, quicker than a cheetah. She stood up and walked out the den, noting Ashstar leaping down from the grey high-rock. She scrambled past the cats gathered, noticing the obvious signs of a meeting, wondering why she hadn't heard the call. She gasped as her denmate, Lionpaw , shoved past her, his pale yellow pelt standing out through a sea of greys' and browns'. An elderly warrior, his thick grey pelt criss-crossed with scars, hissed in her ear "Traitor! " His amber eyes burned with fury - bright and cruel.

She stumbled backwards in bewilderment. Looking up, Applepaw spotted Paleleaf and Ashstar conversing at the top of the high-rock. She heard muffled glimpses of words; she flattered her ears as Ashstar mewed "Glad she's been dealt with." with obvious venom in her icy voice. The tall grey she-cat flicked towards the apprentice's den and murmured "Cats of PathClan can't know about Thunder-." Applepaw was interrupted in her eavesdropping by a stocky brown tom. Ferocity scorched her face as two piecing green eyes stared her dead in the centre of her two small amber orbs.

Applepaw turned around, looking at her mentor, Greenstike. She mewed "Erm... can we go hunting?" She kneaded her paws into the soft dirt floor and waited.

Greenstike stared at her, dislike fringing on his eyes. "No." He mewed bluntly. "Go and clear the elder's den with Amberpaw." Applepaw shrugged and padded to the elder's den. She looked around for moss, then realised that the leafy green foliage was absent in the camp. She would have to look in the forest. She dragged her paws to the entrance of camp, then padded slowly out. "Wait!" Yowled a skinny grey tom. "Who said you could leave?"

Applepaw hissed "I'm just getting moss!"

The cat on guard huffed and mewed "Well, Amberpaw has to go with you. Apprentices aren't allowed out camp on their own. "

Applepaw meowed "Whatever. "

The grey warrior yowled "Amberpaw! Get your tail over here!"

A slow, steady pattering of paws on the dirt floor sounded, then a brown tom stood next to Applepaw. She mewed "Hi Amberpaw." And flicked her ear.

Amberpaw blinked, then mewed "Err... Hey Applepaw. Greytail, what did you want me for? I was clearing out the elders den."

Greytail huffed and said "Go out and get moss with her." Applepaw noticed on the word 'her' Greytail turned his nose up. She shrugged and left camp.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Flame here! First ever A/N**

 **Anyways, thank you to Ember and Dragon for the reviews**

 **Also, this fanfiction has an official trailer (welllll , it's made by me…)**

 **watch?v=X4lWFf_FlVs**

 **Allow me to begin! This chapter is quite important to the plot.**

 **I think that I'm going to do an 'inspirations' thing, such as what songs I'm listening to x3. I'm not sure why x3**

 **Listening to: HAMILTON!**

 **Mood: Restless but happy**

 **Ok, I'm going to actually write now x333**

Applepaw padded quickly past Amberpaw, looking around in the thick undergrowth for moss. She moved a black paw into a tree-trunk, pawing at the soft mulchy bark which was slowly decomposing. She withdrew her paw, which was draped with a strong smelling goo. She let out a small "Ugh!"

Instantly, Amberpaw was standing next to her. She looked up and sniffed as the brown tom mewed "What's wrong?"

The small feline drew her un-dirt covered paw over her ear and mewed "Oh, it's nothing. My paw has some weird bark stuff on it."

Slowly, the russet tom smelt the bark and drew back. He scrunched his nose up and meowed "Ugh! That smells _disgusting."_ He brushed his nose with the tip of his nose.

Applepaw stifled a laugh and continued looking for moss. She delved a little further into a different tree trunk, nosing around inside the hollow structure. She felt something soft and clawed it out using a forepaw. A small clod of green moss lay around her paws.

It was very small, the black she-cat noticed. She examined it with amber eyes and then lifted it in her mouth, carrying it to Amberpaw. She dropped it at his paws and mewed in a quiet voice "It's a bit small."

There was a full five seconds of silence until both cats burst out in peals of unstoppable laughter. Through tear filled eyes, Applepaw gazed at the pebble sized ball of moss.

Amberpaw heaved himself off the grass and, in between snorts meowed "You don't think."

The two cats laughed for another few minutes, and then resumed the quest for moss.

 **Ughhh, I'm so sorry this is such a short chapter. It's only 300 or so words. Still, it's very important to the plot.**

 **I'm going around updating all my old fanfics. Next up is Tigerstar's Cookery Show.**


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